Kiwi indian IT firm lists on German bourse
A company founded by Kiwi Indian IT entrepreneur Manas Kumar in a bedroom eight years ago with just $10 start-up capital has now been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Joining just seven of New Zealand’s largest construction, dairy and telecommunications companies listed on the Deutsche Boerse, Optimizer HQ began trading on November 30. Expected to trade at 0.10 Euro, its share price rose to 0.40 Euro in just six hours.
Optimizer HQ was established in 2003 as a web development company and now provides a raft of groundbreaking technologies to businesses who want to find and grow their customer base in the online market.
Founder Manas Kumar immigrated to New Zealand from India to embark on a professional cricket career.
Mr Kumar says his dream was short-lived and he was forced to swap the cricket pitch for a role behind the counter at a fastfood chain.
“I had no money and worked every hour I could, in the end there was little point in going home so I’d just find somewhere to sleep in downtown Auckland before my next shift started.”
Mr Kumar says he was determined to make a better life for himself. With just $10 that he used to buy a domain name, Optimizer HQ was born in the bedroom of his Auckland apartment. His flagship product was an email marketing solution that allows businesses to communicate with their customers and grow their relationships.
With international clients such as Harvard University, Burger King, Pfizer and Footlocker, and local customers like the New Zealand Police and New Zealand Post, Optimizer HQ currently employs 11 staff and is looking to expand further.
“In the last 18 months Optimizer HQ has grown to the point which I could never have imagined back in 2003 when I set out on this incredible journey,” says Mr Kumar.
“Just last year we were delivering about 300,000 emails per month, which I was really happy with. Now we’re sending more than 400 million emails and expect to hit the one billion mark by next June.”
Mr Kumar says listing on the Deutsche Boerse is the beginning of a new era for the company and one that allows it to showcase its technologies on the world stage.
“This was such an important step for us as a company and one which we’re naturally incredibly proud to have achieved,” he says.
“And just as the growth of Optimizer HQ has been a rapid one, the listing was rapid too - we achieved the listing in just 47 working days,” says Mr Kumar.
At 31, Mr Kumar is the second youngest chief executive in the world to be listed on the Deutsche Boerse, behind Puma’s Jochen Zeitz.
Optimizer acquires Auckland design firm
After listing on the German stock exchange, Optimizer HQ has acquired an Auckland based motion graphics company.
Desaign, an Auckland-based animation, is the company’s new purchase. And there’s more to come – the company plans to make a series of announcements over the next few weeks related to funding, Mr Kumar said.
Desaign director Tanmay Desai said he was over the moon and that it was a step in the right direction, with Desaign helping to explain what Optimizer HQ was doing.
“It’s quite a good partnership there … and Manas is quite a visionary leader so it’s really good to be a part of the team.”
Tanmay Desai is the original designer of Indian Weekender and was associated with the publication for more than two years after its launch.
Since listing the company had had investment interest from the likes of fund managers, Mr Kumar said, with a series of funding announcements to be made in the next few weeks.
A company founded by Kiwi Indian IT entrepreneur Manas Kumar in a bedroom eight years ago with just $10 start-up capital has now been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Joining just seven of New Zealand’s largest construction, dairy and telecommunications companies listed on the Deutsche...
A company founded by Kiwi Indian IT entrepreneur Manas Kumar in a bedroom eight years ago with just $10 start-up capital has now been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Joining just seven of New Zealand’s largest construction, dairy and telecommunications companies listed on the Deutsche Boerse, Optimizer HQ began trading on November 30. Expected to trade at 0.10 Euro, its share price rose to 0.40 Euro in just six hours.
Optimizer HQ was established in 2003 as a web development company and now provides a raft of groundbreaking technologies to businesses who want to find and grow their customer base in the online market.
Founder Manas Kumar immigrated to New Zealand from India to embark on a professional cricket career.
Mr Kumar says his dream was short-lived and he was forced to swap the cricket pitch for a role behind the counter at a fastfood chain.
“I had no money and worked every hour I could, in the end there was little point in going home so I’d just find somewhere to sleep in downtown Auckland before my next shift started.”
Mr Kumar says he was determined to make a better life for himself. With just $10 that he used to buy a domain name, Optimizer HQ was born in the bedroom of his Auckland apartment. His flagship product was an email marketing solution that allows businesses to communicate with their customers and grow their relationships.
With international clients such as Harvard University, Burger King, Pfizer and Footlocker, and local customers like the New Zealand Police and New Zealand Post, Optimizer HQ currently employs 11 staff and is looking to expand further.
“In the last 18 months Optimizer HQ has grown to the point which I could never have imagined back in 2003 when I set out on this incredible journey,” says Mr Kumar.
“Just last year we were delivering about 300,000 emails per month, which I was really happy with. Now we’re sending more than 400 million emails and expect to hit the one billion mark by next June.”
Mr Kumar says listing on the Deutsche Boerse is the beginning of a new era for the company and one that allows it to showcase its technologies on the world stage.
“This was such an important step for us as a company and one which we’re naturally incredibly proud to have achieved,” he says.
“And just as the growth of Optimizer HQ has been a rapid one, the listing was rapid too - we achieved the listing in just 47 working days,” says Mr Kumar.
At 31, Mr Kumar is the second youngest chief executive in the world to be listed on the Deutsche Boerse, behind Puma’s Jochen Zeitz.
Optimizer acquires Auckland design firm
After listing on the German stock exchange, Optimizer HQ has acquired an Auckland based motion graphics company.
Desaign, an Auckland-based animation, is the company’s new purchase. And there’s more to come – the company plans to make a series of announcements over the next few weeks related to funding, Mr Kumar said.
Desaign director Tanmay Desai said he was over the moon and that it was a step in the right direction, with Desaign helping to explain what Optimizer HQ was doing.
“It’s quite a good partnership there … and Manas is quite a visionary leader so it’s really good to be a part of the team.”
Tanmay Desai is the original designer of Indian Weekender and was associated with the publication for more than two years after its launch.
Since listing the company had had investment interest from the likes of fund managers, Mr Kumar said, with a series of funding announcements to be made in the next few weeks.
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